Welcome to the first issue of ABStract for 2003. Like all in our region, the ACT Office of the ABS was shocked and saddened by the devastation caused by the January bushfires. Our thoughts and sympathies go out to all Canberrans, and those from our surrounding region, affected by the fires.On February 11 we released one of our key publications, Canberra... A Social Atlas (cat. no. 2030.8). The Social Atlas, featuring maps of key social and economic characteristics for Canberra and Queanbeyan, provides a rich source of information for everyone living in the region. It is compiled using information gathered from the 2001 Population Census. Maps range from topics such as population, ethnicity, families and income to Internet use, dwellings and travel to work. The 2001 Census received excellent support from Canberrans and I commend this publication as a useful resource for business, students and community groups.

In conjunction with Australia Day, Ian Kiernan AO, founder of Clean Up Australia Day, launched the 2003 Year Book Australia(cat. no. 1301.0). Mr. Kiernan’s involvement was particularly relevant as the 2003 edition has a special focus on the environment. Speaking at the launch, the Australian Statistician, Dennis Trewin said, ‘The Year Book plays an important role as a valuable reference tool but also stimulates informed debate in the Australian community.

Finally, Regional Statistics ACT (cat. no. 1362.8) will be released in June. This publication has a wide range of ABS data (including census data) and non-ABS data presented by Statistical Local Area (SLA), covering the ACT and the surrounding region.

Canberra ... A Social Atlas (cat. no. 2030.8), was released on 11 February 2003. The publication presents information on the social, economic and housing characteristics of populations in the urban centre of Canberra-Queanbeyan (including Jerrabomberra), and the locality of Hall. Other areas included, which are currently classified as non-urban, are the suburbs of Pialligo and Symonston in the ACT, and three Census Collection Districts (CDs) adjoining the Queanbeyan urban area in New South Wales. The Atlas presents information in an easy to understand format through the use of colourful maps and enlightening commentary.

The publication contains a set of 35 maps covering population, ethnicity, education, families, income, labour force and dwellings. Also included are maps on topics specific to Canberra, for example, ‘People who walked or cycled to work’. The maps are easy to interpret and give a bird’s eye view of Canberra.Informative commentary that is easily understood accompanies the maps and highlights the major findings against each of the core set of characteristics included in the Social Atlas.

Furthermore, a new map has been included in the 2001 Social Atlas on the number of ‘People who had used the Internet at Home’ in the week before census night.

The Social Atlas is presented in a convenient A4 format and spiral bound for ease of use. It is a colourful and readily understood reference and a valuable information resource.

Some points of interest were:

PopulationThe population of the Canberra atlas area grew by 5% (almost 17,000 people) between the 1996 and 2001 Censuses. This population growth reflected residential developments in the outer suburbs such as Amaroo, Nicholls and Ngunnawal in Gungahlin-Hall. There were also pockets of redevelopment in areas such as Kingston, in South Canberra, which added to an increase in population.

Age groupsCanberra-Queanbeyan had the second highest proportion of people aged between 5 and 14 years (15%) of all Australian capital cities. The highest concentration were in Tuggeranong and in the southern parts of Queanbeyan.Canberra also recorded the second lowest percentage of people aged between 55 and 64, and those aged 65 years or older. People in these age groups tended to be located in the older established suburbs close to the city centre.

BirthplaceAlmost a quarter (22%) of the people counted in Canberra-Queanbeyan were born overseas (71,989 people). Overseas-born people were found primarily in the more established areas close to the city centre, and those in proximity to educational institutions.

HousingJust over one-third of dwellings (41,905 dwellings or 34%) were being purchased by their occupants, primarily in the outer areas of Canberra and Queanbeyan. These areas also had relatively high percentages of couples with dependent children.

Living arrangementsThe average household size in Canberra-Queanbeyan fell from 2.9 people in 1991 to 2.6 people in 2001 - this follows a national trend in decreasing household sizes. The highest average household size was found in Duntroon (3.5 people). DINKs (double income, no kids) comprised 8% of all families. Canberra-Queanbeyan had the second highest proportion of DINKS of all Australian capital cities.

Working arrangementsIn the 2001 Census, the highest percentages of unemployed people were in Acton, Bruce and part of Belconnen Town Centre. These areas were populated by students attending nearby educational and training institutions.Of the total Canberra-Queanbeyan labour force, 18% were mothers with dependent children. This was the highest proportion of all Australian capital cities.

TransportMore than 80% of Canberra people travelled to work by car, with only 11% of these people travelling as passengers. There was also a continuing decrease, over the past ten years, in the proportion of people who travelled to work by public transport.There were 6% of employed people from Canberra-Queanbeyan in the 2001 Census who walked or cycled to work, which was an increase from the 1991 Census.

Labour Force QualificationsAt the 2001 Census Canberra-Queanbeyan had the highest percentage (31%), of any Australian capital city, of people in the labour force with a degree or higher qualification.

Internet useMore than 40% of Canberra-Queanbeyan’s population aged 5 years or older used the Internet at home in the week before Census Night. This was the highest proportion of all Australian capital cities.

Environment campaigner Ian Kiernan AO, founder of clean up campaigns Clean Up Australia Day and Clean Up the World, launched the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) 2003 edition of Year Book Australia (cat. no. 1301.0).

The 2003 edition of the Year Book has a special focus on the environment.

‘This wealth of information on economic, social and now environmental conditions in Australia is essential to help us understand the relationship between the three and plan for a healthier environment,’ said Mr Kiernan.

The inclusion of special feature articles on the environment, such as climate change and sustainable development makes this edition a timely reference tool for a nation facing ever-increasing threats from drought, bushfire and salinity.

In a tradition that dates back to 1908, this 85th edition of Year Book Australia provides a comprehensive overview of the economic and social conditions of contemporary Australia.

At the launch the Australian Statistician, Dennis Trewin said, ‘As an historical record, the Year Book is Australia’s statistical treasure chest. There is something for everyone.’

‘The release of this flagship ABS publication is an opportune time to extend thanks and appreciation to those who through the year have helped the ABS collect and publish an extraordinarily large range of data and information,' he said.

More detail from the Year Book Australia (cat. no. 1301.0) is available by subject in the ‘Australia Now’ section of the ABS web site.

Regional Statistics, Australian Capital Territory 2002 (cat. no. 1362.8), is due for release in June. Regional Statistics focuses on small-area statistics for the ACT and nearby areas.

The publication presents a summary of the latest available key statistics, at the time of preparation, for each of the Statistical Local Areas (SLAs) or Statistical Subdivisions (SSDs) of the ACT, as well as for Queanbeyan City and Yarrowlumla Shire (part A) which make up the Queanbeyan Statistical Subdivision. The total geographic area of coverage of these statistics is the Canberra-Queanbeyan Statistical District plus ACT Balance.

It includes a map of each region according to the Census of Population and Housing boundaries as at 30 June 2001.

The annual ABS publication Australian Capital Territory in Focus (cat. no. 1307.8) is a valuable reference tool for people who want the history and nature of the ACT at their fingertips.

The 2002 issue of ACT in Focus was released on 24th September. This latest edition of the annual publication presents a detailed look at Canberra and the surrounding region. It presents a statistical review of social, economic, environmental and demographic characteristics of the ACT.

This ACT yearbook presents a qualitative analysis on topics such as government, education, health, housing, law and order, transport, tourism and climate. ACT in Focus is an ideal reference tool for both government agencies and businesses in the ACT Region. The 2002 edition also provides a fascinating account of the history of Canberra from early Aboriginal settlement to current events.

ACT in Focus is a must for those who want topical and relevant facts about the Australian Capital Territory and surrounding area at their fingertips.

The December quarterly issue of Australian Capital Territory Statistical Indicators (cat. no. 1367.8) was released on January 29th 2003. This publication includes a broad range of information with detailed analysis of the recent trends and movements in key demographic, economic and labour market statistics. It also includes two feature articles on ‘ACT Health’ and ‘Marriage and Divorce in the ACT’.

Some highlights and Statistics from the December issue include:

ACT Health (feature article)

81% of the ACT population reported that they had one or more long-term medical conditions. The most common condition was hayfever and allergic rhinitis (26% of the population).

ACT people were more likely than any other state (excluding NT) to have days away from work as an action taken for health (10% in the ACT compared with 8% nationally).

The ACT had the highest rate alcohol consumption with 68% of ACT adults drinking in the week prior to interview, compared with 62% nationally.

Marriage and Divorce in the ACT (feature article)

During 2001, there were 1,572 marriages registered in the ACT, a 9% decrease from 1,735 marriages in 2000.

In 2001, the marriage rate per one thousand people in the ACT (4.9) was the lowest rate recorded since 1932 (4.8).

The median age for grooms in the ACT was 30.1 years and for brides 28.3 years in 2001.

There were 1,684 divorces granted in the ACT during 2001. In these divorces 1,707 children under the age of 18 years, were involved.

Quarterly Indicators

The September quarter 2002 established house price index for the ACT increased to 190.9 points, up 18% from September quarter 2001. This was the 17th consecutive quarter to record an increase.

363 new houses were commenced in the ACT during June quarter 2002.

11,213 offences were reported in the ACT during June quarter 2002, an increase of 20% from March quarter 2002.

From April 1998 to October 2002, trend turnover of retail trade in the ACT recorded an increase each month.

In June quarter 2002, domestic airlines carried a total of 245,454 passengers through Canberra airport. This was a 16% increase from the previous quarter.

A total of 217,300 guests arrived in the ACT during September quarter 2002. This was a decrease of 7% from September quarter 2001.

Rainfall was below average during Spring 2002, with 80.4mm recorded at the Canberra Airport. Rain fell on 12 days, compared with the average of 31 days.

At the end of the June quarter 2002, the estimated resident population of the ACT was 323,594 people, an increase of 0.9% from March quarter 2002.

The National Centre for Crime and Justice Statistics (NCCJS), located within the ABS, was created to provide nationally comparable statistics on crime, criminal courts, and corrections, with an emphasis on describing the characteristics of people who come into contact with the criminal justice sector, either as a victim or an offender.

The NCCJS forward work program for 2003 will include the preparation of a National Information Development Plan (NIDP) for the criminal justice sector. The NIDP will provide a strategic basis for future crime and justice data collection activity through the identification of key policy questions, related information needs, data sources currently available, and existing gaps in the data. Priorities will need to be assigned to unmet data needs and strategies ultimately developed to meet those needs. The NCCJS will be undertaking an extensive consultative process with key stakeholders in the sector during 2003 as part of the NIDP process.

Additional data is also available on request. Depending on the collection, these can be made available as a set of supplementary tables or companion tables, or customised tables can be run on request. Price upon application.

The NCCJS produces an informative Newsletter twice a year, in April and October. To receive this newsletter or for more information about NCCJS please email crime.justice@abs.gov.au or go to the ABS web site and look for the theme page.

The development of a Sexual Assault Information Development Plan (IDP) is being undertaken in the NCCJS, a project funded by the Commonwealth Office of the Status of Women. The IDP provides a conceptual framework for sexual assault, identifies key policy issues and related information needs, lists data sources currently available and identifies gaps in the data.

Aimed at the health and community services sectors as well as crime and justice sectors, some strategies are proposed to fill the gaps and to improve the utilisation and comparability of data. It is anticipated that this work will be published as an ABS Information Paper in March 2003. The project is being undertaken by Lyn Tucker who can be contacted on Melbourne (03) 9615 7883.

ConferencesA conference, titled ‘Evaluation in Crime and Justice: Trends and Methods’ will be held at ABS House in Canberra on 24-25 March 2003. The Australian Institute of Criminology and the Australian Bureau of Statistics will jointly sponsor this conference.

The aim of the conference is to provide a forum for practitioners, researchers and policy makers to discuss current issues and challenges involved with criminal justice research and evaluation.

For more information about NCCJS please email crime.justice@abs.gov.au or go to the ABS website and look for the theme page.

The ABS is collecting information on a new, one-off collection of statistics on costs of land access to the mineral exploration sector. Questionnaires were despatched in the latter half of August 2002 to all identified businesses engaged in the Australian mineral exploration industry.

The issue of the costs of land access has been identified by the mining industry as being the single most important area for which information is needed. It stems from the belief that Australia’s diminishing mineral exploration levels in recent years could be partly attributed to mineral exploration land access issues. The ABS undertook a feasibility study during 2001 and the positive feedback and results from businesses approached has enabled the Federal Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources to commission the ABS to conduct an immediate one-off survey for financial year 2001-02.

The ABS has also been encouraged and supported by the Minerals Council of Australia (MCA), the Association of Mining and Exploration Companies (AMEC) and the Ministerial Council on Mineral & Petroleum Resources (MCMPR). Results will be published in the middle of 2003.

Sports organisations involved in the provision of sports and physical recreation activities generated $8,466m in income during 2000-01. Major sources of income included television and broadcasting rights ($1,349m), sponsorship and fundraising ($1,221m), admissions ($1,142m), funding from government ($731m), membership fees ($647m), and net TAB distributions ($555m).

In 2000-01, ‘for profit’ organisations generated total income of $4,358m, while ‘not for profit’ organisations generated $3,379m and government organisations generated $730m. This included those organisations involved in the Sydney Olympic and Paralympic Games.

In terms of its component industries, the highest income for the non-government sports organisations were sports venues ($3,857m), sports clubs, teams, and sports professionals ($1,382m), sports administration ($1,147m) and horse and dog racing ($1,136m).

Total expenses of sports organisations was $8,608m resulting in an operating profit before tax of $89m.

At end June 2001, there were 7,147 employing sports organisations. ‘For profit’ organisations accounted for 51% of the total employing organisations, and ‘not for profit’ and government organisations accounted for 40% and 9% respectively.

Total employment at the end of June 2001 in the sports and physical recreation industries was 87,447 people, of which only 30,547 were permanent employees. In addition, the industries had 178,837 volunteers during the month of June 2001.

Following on from the early release of the Time Series Profile, the Usual Residents Profile (URP) for Statistical Local Areas and above, will be released on 18 March 2003. This is again one month earlier than originally scheduled.

The Usual Residents Profile (URP) contains 28 tables drawn from the Basic and Expanded Community Profiles and is based on place of usual residence. Census counts at place of usual residence are based on where people usually live, rather than the place where they were counted on Census Night.

The URP provides a better understanding of the population that normally resides in an area. For example, the ski-fields of NSW and Victoria have an influx of tourists in August - the month in which the 2001 Census was held. Usual residents data reflects the characteristics of areas during normal periods.

The URP will be available for the following geographies: Post Code, the Australian Standard Geographical Classification (ASGC) areas of Statistical Local Areas (SLA), Statistical Subdivisions (SSD), Statistical Divisions (SD), Local Government Areas (LGA), statistical districts, states and territories and Australia.

URPs will be accessible from the ABS web site for $10 per area.

Usual Residents Profiles to be made available at CD level.

For the first time, the 2001 Census Usual Residents Profile will be produced down to collection district level. The quality of responses from the 2001 Census enabled the accurate coding of people’s usual residence down to this small area level. Due to the additional work required in producing the Usual Residents Profiles at collection district level, the products at this level will not be available until mid-2003.

TIME SERIES PROFILE NOW AVAILABLE

The early release of the 2001 Census Time Series Profiles (TSP) on 28 January 2003 occurred more than one month ahead of schedule.

The Time Series Profile contains 22 tables similar to those in the Basic and Expanded Community Profiles. The Profile comprises data from the 1991, 1996 and 2001 Censuses (where the classifications are comparable). Some classifications have been redefined to ensure data comparability between censuses. Footnotes have been added to the tables where this is the case.

The TSP provides clients with the information to conduct analysis and compare statistics across a number of years. The data contained in the Profiles are based on place of enumeration and 2001 Census boundaries.

The TSP are available for the following geographies: ASGC, SLA, SSD, SD, LGA, statistical districts, states and territories and Australia.

Time Series Profiles are accessible from the ABS web site for $10 per area.

This listing shows a selection of ABS publications expected to be released over the coming quarter. The expected month of release is shown in brackets. Release dates may vary from those shown. Current publications and other products released by the ABS are listed in the Catalogue of Publications and Products (cat. no. 1101.0) which is available from any ABS office or the ABS web site. The web site also provides daily release information.